Necessity of Evaluating Mental Health Level of Recruits

Aims. The objective of this research was to evaluate the mental health level of 430 randomly selected recruits to the Land Force, Air Force, Navy and the University of Sepah (The Islamic revolutionarg gards) who were doing their basic military training course. Methods. The data obtained from questionnaires on the personal details and symptoms checklists (SCL-90-R) of the subjects were analyzed by T-test, ANOVA and LSD. Results. The results showed that the average age stood at 21.85 ± 3.07 and that while paranoia, obsessive- compulsive disorder and interpersonal sensitivity were the most common problems, phobia, aggression, somatic problems and anxiety were the least frequent ones. Furthermore, the average of positive symptom total (PST) was 28.72 ± 53.18. Those serving in the Land Forces exhibited the most symptoms, whereas the ones recruited to the University had the fewest problems, which indicated a significant difference between the groups. The cut-off point of mental health showed that 81.9% were recognized as healthy individuals, but 18.1% were prone to mental disorders. Conclusion. A comparison based on SCL-90-R between these two groups is indicative of a significant difference, hence the necessity of a thorough evaluation of mental health level in the recruitment process of Sepah personnel.